[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 14, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2238-2240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-939]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5949-7]
Proposed Reissuance of the NPDES General Permit for the Western
Portion of the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico;
(GMG290000)
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed NPDES general permit reissuance.
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SUMMARY: EPA Region 6 today proposes to reissue the National Pollutant
Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit for the Western
Portion of the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico (No.
GMG290000) for discharges from new sources, existing sources, and new
dischargers in the Offshore Subcategory of the Oil and Gas Extraction
Point Source Category (40 CFR part 435, subpart A). The existing permit
published in the Federal Register at 61 FR 41609 on August 9, 1996
authorized discharges from exploration, development, and production
facilities located in and discharging to Federal waters of the Gulf of
Mexico seaward of the outer boundary of the territorial seas off
Louisiana and Texas. The discharge of produced water to that portion of
the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Subcategory facilities
located in the territorial seas off Louisiana and Texas was also
authorized by that permit. As proposed, the permit will be reissued
with few changes.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Regional Administrator, Region
6, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas,
Texas 75202-2733
Comments may also be submitted via EMAIL to the following address:
turner.wilma@epamail.epa.gov
DATES: Comments must be received by March 16, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Wilma Turner, Region 6, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75202-
2733. Telephone: (214) 665-7516.
A complete draft permit and/or a fact sheet more fully explaining
the proposal may be obtained from Ms. Turner. In addition, the Agency's
current administrative record on the proposal is available for
examination at the Region's Dallas offices during normal working hours
after providing Ms. Turner 24 hours advanced notice. Additionally, a
copy of the proposed permit, fact sheet, and this Federal Register
Notice may be obtained on the Internet at: http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/
6wq/6wq.htm
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Regulated Entities
EPA intends to use the proposed permit to regulate oil and gas
extraction facilities located in the Outer Continental Shelf of the
Western Gulf of Mexico, e.g., offshore oil and gas extraction
platforms, but other types of facilities may also be subject to the
permit. To determine whether your (facility, company, business,
organization, etc.) may be affected by today's action, you should
carefully examine the applicability criteria in part I, section A.1 of
the draft permit. Questions on the permit's application to specific
facilities may also be directed to Ms. Turner at the telephone number
or address listed above.
The expiring permit contains limitations conforming to EPA's Oil
and Gas extraction, Offshore Subcategory Effluent Limitations
Guidelines at 40 CFR part 435 and additional requirements assuring that
regulated discharges will cause no unreasonable degradation of the
marine environment, as required by section 403(c) of the Clean Water
Act. Specific information on the derivation of those limitations and
conditions is contained in the fact sheet. With the changes described
below, EPA Region 6 proposes to retain those limitations and conditions
in the reissued permit. It is, however, proposing minor wording changes
to some of those requirements to enhance their clarity.
Region 6 proposes to authorize new discharges of seawater and
freshwater to which treatment chemicals have been added, subject to
limitations on free oil, concentration of treatment chemicals, and
acute toxicity. These new permit limitations will apply technology
based limitations to miscellaneous discharges to which treatment
chemicals such as biocides and corrosion inhibitors have been added.
They will also ensure that
[[Page 2239]]
those discharges meet Ocean Discharge Criteria under section 403(c) of
the Clean Water Act. Additionally, the maximum discharge rate
limitation for produced water is proposed to be removed from the
permit. To account for this change the produced water critical dilution
tables have been expanded in the proposed permit, thus ensuring the
discharges will be compliant with Ocean Discharge Criteria.
Other Legal Requirements
Oil Spill Requirements
Section 311 of the CWA, ``the Act'', prohibits the discharge of oil
and hazardous materials in harmful quantities. Discharges that are in
compliance with NPDES permits are excluded from the provisions of
section 311. However, the permit does not preclude the institution of
legal action or relieve permittees from any responsibilities,
liabilities, or penalties for other, unauthorized discharges of oil and
hazardous materials which are covered by section 311 of the Act.
Endangered Species Act
As explained at 58 FR 53203 (October 14, 1993), EPA found that
issuance of the New Source General Permit would not adversely affect
any listed threatened or endangered species or designated critical
habitat and requested written concurrence on that determination from
the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). On November 4, 1993, NMFS
provided such concurrence. The same determination was made and
concurrence received from National Marine Fisheries Service when the
existing OCS general permit was reissued on November 19, 1992, and
modified on December 3, 1993.
The Region now finds that adoption of the proposed reissued permit
is unlikely to adversely affect any threatened or endangered species or
its critical habitat. Discharges proposed to be authorized by the
reissued permit are not significantly different than those authorized
by the expired permit, for which the National Marine Fisheries Service
concurred with EPA's determination that issuance of the permit would
not adversely affect any listed threatened or endangered species.
Additionally, as required by EPA's ocean discharge criteria at 40 CFR
125, subpart M, the effluent limitations of the proposed permit are
protective of sensitive marine organisms. EPA is again seeking written
concurrence from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on this
determination.
Ocean Discharge Criteria Evaluation
For discharges into waters of the territorial sea, contiguous zone,
or oceans CWA section 403 requires EPA to consider guidelines for
determining potential degradation of the marine environment in issuance
of NPDES permits. These Ocean Discharge Criteria (40 CFR 125, subpart
M) are intended to ``prevent unreasonable degradation of the marine
environment and to authorize imposition of effluent limitations,
including a prohibition of discharge, if necessary, to ensure this
goal'' (45 FR 65942, October 3, 1980). At 58 FR 41476, 58 FR 63964, and
61 FR 41609 EPA Region 6 determined that discharges in compliance with
the Western Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf general permit
(GMG290000) would not cause unreasonable degradation of the marine
environment. Since this proposed reissued permit is nearly identical to
the previous permit, the Region again finds that issuance of the
proposed general permit will not cause unreasonable degradation of the
marine environment.
Coastal Zone Management Act
The proposed permit is generally as stringent as the previous
general permit for New and Existing Sources in the Oil and Gas
Extraction Category for the Western Portion of the Outer Continental
Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico (GMG290000) which has been determined to be
consistent with Louisiana's Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP). Since
it covers the same operations and as proposed is nearly identical to
the previous permit, EPA has determined that the activities which are
proposed to be authorized by this permit are consistent with the local
and state Coastal Zone Management Plans. The proposed permit and
consistency determination will be submitted to the State of Louisiana
and the State of Texas for interagency review at the time of public
notice.
Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act
The Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) of 1972
regulates the dumping of all types of materials into ocean waters and
establishes a permit program for ocean dumping. In addition the MPRSA
establishes Marine Sanctuaries Program, implemented by the National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which requires
NOAA to designate ocean waters as marine sanctuaries for the purpose of
preserving or restoring their conservation, recreational, ecological or
aesthetic values. Pursuant to the Marine Protection and Sanctuaries
Act, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has
designated the Flower Garden Banks, an area within the coverage of the
OCS general permit, a marine sanctuary. The OCS general permit
prohibits discharges in areas of biological concern, including marine
sanctuaries. No change adopted today affects that prohibition.
State Water Quality Standards and State Certification
Because state waters are not included in the area covered by this
NPDES general permit, no state waters are affected by the discharges it
authorizes. Thus, the state water quality certification provisions of
CWA section 401 do not apply to the proposed permit.
Executive Order 12866
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has exempted this action
from the review requirements of Executive Order 12291 pursuant to
Section 8(b) of that order. Guidance on Executive Order 12866 contain
the same exemptions on OMB review as existed under Executive Order
12291. In fact, however, EPA prepared a regulatory impact analysis in
connection with its promulgation of guidelines on which a number of the
permit's provisions are based and submitted it to OMB for review. See
58 FR 12494.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The information collection required by this permit has been
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., in
submission made for the NPDES permit program and assigned OMB control
numbers 2040-0086 (NPDES permit application) and 2040-0004 (discharge
monitoring reports).
Since this permit is very similar in reporting and application
requirements and in discharges which are required to be monitored as
the previous Western Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
general permit (GMG290000) the paperwork burdens are expected to be
nearly identical. When it issued the previous OCS general permit, EPA
estimated it would take an affected facility three hours to prepare the
request for coverage and 38 hours per year to prepare discharge
monitoring reports. It is estimated that the time required to prepare
the request for coverage and discharge monitoring reports for the
reissued permit will be the same.
[[Page 2240]]
Regulatory Flexibility Act
The Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq, requires that
EPA prepare a regulatory flexibility analysis for regulations that have
a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. As
indicated below, the permit issued today is not a ``rule'' subject to
the Regulatory Flexibility Act . EPA prepared a regulatory flexibility
analysis, however, on the promulgation of the Offshore Subcategory
guidelines on which many of the permit's effluent limitations are
based. That analysis shows that issuance of this permit will not have a
significant impact on a substantial number of small entities.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
Section 201 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), Public Law
104-4, generally requires Federal agencies to assess the effects of
their ``regulatory actions'' on State, local, and tribal governments
and the private sector. UMRA uses the term ``regulatory actions'' to
refer to regulations. (See, e.g., UMRA section 201, ``Each agency shall
* * * assess the effects of Federal regulatory actions * * * (other
than to the extent that such regulations incorporate requirements
specifically set forth in law)'' (emphasis added)). UMRA section 102
defines ``regulation'' by reference to section 658 of Title 2 of the
U.S. Code, which in turn defines ``regulation'' and ``rule'' by
reference to section 601(2) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA).
That section of the RFA defines ``rule'' as ``any rule for which the
agency publishes a notice of proposed rulemaking pursuant to section
553(b) of [the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)], or any other law *
* *''.
NPDES general permits are not ``rules'' under the APA and thus not
subject to the APA requirement to publish a notice of proposed
rulemaking. NPDES general permits are also not subject to such a
requirement under the CWA. While EPA publishes a notice to solicit
public comment on draft general permits, it does so pursuant to the CWA
section 402(a) requirement to provide ``an opportunity for a hearing.''
Thus, NPDES general permits are not ``rules'' for RFA or UMRA purposes.
EPA has determined that the proposed permit would not contain a
Federal requirement that may result in expenditures of $100 million or
more for State, local and tribal governments, in the aggregate, or the
private sector in any one year.
The Agency also believes that the permit would not significantly
nor uniquely affect small governments. For UMRA purposes, ``small
governments'' is defined by reference to the definition of ``small
governmental jurisdiction'' under the RFA. (See UMRA section 102(1),
referencing 2 U.S.C. 658, which references section 601(5) of the RFA.)
``Small governmental jurisdiction'' means governments of cities,
counties, towns, etc., with a population of less than 50,000, unless
the agency establishes an alternative definition.
The permit, as proposed, also would not uniquely affect small
governments because compliance with the proposed permit conditions
affects small governments in the same manner as any other entities
seeking coverage under the permit. Additionally, EPA does not expect
small governments to operate facilities authorized to discharge by this
permit.
National Environmental Policy Act
When it was proposed, EPA determined that issuance of the now
expired NPDES New Source General Permit for the Western Portion of the
Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico was a major Federal
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
Thus, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969,
evaluation of the potential environmental consequences of the permit
action in the form of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was
required. The Minerals Management Service had previously examined the
environmental consequences in their final EIS which was conducted for
oil and gas lease sales 142 and 143 in the OCS Region of the Gulf of
Mexico. EPA adopted that EIS and prepared a Supplemental EIS (SEIS) to
allow for additional consideration and evaluation of potential impacts
on air quality, water quality, including radium in produced water, and
cumulative effects. The Final SEIS was completed in December 1994 and
the Record of Decision was prepared and dated September 28, 1995.
Reissuance of the NPDES general permit for New and Existing Sources
in the Western Portion of the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of
Mexico will not result in any new impacts which were not subjected to
NEPA analysis in either Mineral Management Service's EIS or the SEIS
produced by EPA Region 6. All discharges proposed to be authorized by
the reissued permit were addressed in that NEPA Review. Thus EPA does
not propose to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement
for this action.
William B. Hathaway,
Director, Water Quality Protection Division, EPA Region 6.
[FR Doc. 98-939 Filed 1-13-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
